Woman Who Posed As a Man Is Found Slain With 2 Others

Published: January 4, 1994

HUMBOLDT, Neb., Jan. 3—
A woman who had posed as a man and dated women was found shot to death on Friday, two weeks after residents of this rural area learned her true identity, the authorities said today.

The body of Teena Brandon was found along with the bodies of Lisa Lambert, 23, and Phillip DeVine, 22, both of whom had also been shot, in a farmhouse about three miles south of Humboldt, a southeastern Nebraska town of 1,000 residents.

Ms. Brandon shared the rented house with Ms. Lambert and Ms. Lambert's infant son, who was not harmed. Mr. DeVine was from Fairfield, Iowa, and his stepfather said in a telephone interview that Mr. DeVine had left home to visit friends in Nebraska.

John Lotter, 22, and Marvin Nissen, 21, both of Falls City, were arrested for investigation of murder and held in the county jail. They were also charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting Ms. Brandon on Dec. 25, said the Richardson County Attorney, Douglas Merz.

The authorities refused to say if they believed the slayings were connected to the earlier assault complaint, to Ms. Brandon's double life or to some other incident. Stories of Sex Change Surgery

Friends said Ms. Brandon, 21, had posed for two months as a man, using the name Brandon Teena, and had told stories of an incomplete sex-change operation or of being a hermaphrodite.

"She said she felt like a man inside, but she was a female outside," said Michelle Lotter, a friend of Ms. Brandon and a sister of Mr. Lotter.

Ms. Brandon had lived with Ms. Lambert for about three months, but their relationship was unclear, Mr. Merz said. Her friends said she moved to the area from Lincoln about three months ago and went by the name Brandon Teena.

One woman she dated was Lana Tisdel, 19, of Falls City, who said she met Ms. Brandon at a party in November.

The two dated for about a week, and Ms. Tisdel said she had believed that Ms. Brandon was male until Ms. Brandon was arrested about two weeks ago on alcohol and forgery charges.

After the authorities referred to Ms. Brandon as a woman, Ms. Tisdel said, she confronted her. "She told me that she had a sex change and it's not all done," Ms. Tisdel said.